Saturday, June 03, 2006

Defeat the Evil Captain Copyright!

Librarians, students, teachers, parents, school administrators, and every friend of the commons: let us unite, to defeat the evil Captain Copyright!

Captain Copyright is the brainchild of Access Copyright, a Canadian copyright collective with views that are decidedly unbalanced! For example, Access Copyright is calling for an internet tax on materials which creators have made freely available!

Access Copyright's latest ploy is the use of comic books (Captain Copyright), games and activities for children to educate them on copyright. The problem with this is, the view of copyright they are promoting is not balanced - for example, there is no mention of fair use / fair dealing, never mind the concept of open sharing and participating in the public domain.

It would be wrong to rely on fast-food companies to design educational materials on nutrition, and it is wrong to rely on Access Copyright for educational materials on copyright.

Students, teachers, parents, and school administrators - let us unite to defeat the evil Captain Copyright! Dr. Use and her sidekick Dealings, Private Copying and Public Domain - not to mention Share and her sidekick CommonsSense - are no villains, and should never be painted as such!

February 11, 2007 update: Captain Copyright is no more! See Michael's Geist The End of Captain Copyright for details, and a suggestion for those looking for tools to help children learn about copyright: the Learning Commons - for copyright, copyleft, and everything in between.

This post reflects my personal opinion only and does not represent the opinions or policy of the BC Electronic Library Network or the Simon Fraser University Library.